Vancouverites against light rail and the CRC project are angry about potential costs

View full sizeThe OregonianLight rail has strong, vociferous support in Portland, but across the river in Vancouver, the opposite sometimes seems to be the case.

David Madore has lived in Clark County for 21 years. The first 19 he spent focusing on running a business and raising his family.

Madore says something clicked two years ago. He woke up to Clark County politics. The chief issue that caught his attention: the Columbia River Crossing project and, in particular, the possibility that it would bring light-rail transportation to Vancouver, whether Vancouverites wanted it or not.

Madore, who lives in Vancouver, dived in and quickly became one of the county's most vocal opponents of light rail. He has attempted to create discussion through social networking, and earlier this year, he hired a forensic accountant to plow through and explain data on CRC and light rail. Madore routinely challenges local leaders on light rail. Last June, he played host to "Bridging the Gaps," a CRC informational event.

He says his mission is to bring the issue to a vote in Clark County. "Let the people vote and decide," he said. "I think it's outrageous we're not allowed to vote on such an expensive project."

"It's an interstate highway project that benefits the entire West Coast. Who votes? The residents of Washington, Oregon and California, or Canada and Mexico, because their trade partners benefit?" Leavitt said.

Leavitt said a de facto vote on light rail already has been done.

"The candidates who are supportive of the project continue to get re-elected," Leavitt said.

This attitude makes opponents like Madore want to scream -- and leads to rumors that the CRC project is already secretly under way. Last month, the telecommunications company CenturyLink did maintenance and upgrade street work in downtown Vancouver. Rumors that some of the work was related to light rail created an online frenzy.

"Citizens have virtually no trust remaining for the CRC or their elected representatives pushing it without a vote," Madore said.

In Madore's mind, things are going to change with several Vancouver City Council seats up for election in November.

Clark County first started discussing light rail in the early 1990s, when it was proposed that MAX rail in Portland be extended into Vancouver. Larry Patella's roots in the fight go back to his opposition to a 1995 initiative, when county voters were asked to pay for construction of light rail through a combination of sales taxes and motor-vehicle excise tax increases. It failed by more than a 2-to-1 margin.

Patella, a former military man who spent 21 years with the Port of Portland, describes himself as a "rabble-rouser" and a fiscal conservative. He lives in Vancouver. Opposition to light rail in the county typically has been greatest outside of Vancouver.

"There's a lot of us very concerned about the direction the city of Vancouver is going and what we consider to be wasteful spending," he said.

View full sizeBenjamin Brink, the OregonianDavid Madore, founder of US Digital, is a vocal opponent of extending light rail into Clark County.

Though there is no organized group in Clark County opposed to light rail, its critics are vocal and prominent. Patella calls it "a loose-knit group." Madore says 20 to 50 people opposing the project are on hand any time there is a CRC-related public meeting. A larger group of opponents helps spread the message through online means, such as Facebook, Madore's couv.com and notolls.com.

Public opinion can be difficult to pin down on the issue. There's that 1995 initiative vote that roundly rejected light rail in Vancouver. And Tom Mielke, a county commissioner, says a poll he commissioned in 2008 showed 69 percent of Clark County residents opposed light rail. But another 2008 poll, by Riley Research Associates, indicated 62 percent of Clark County residents supported a light-rail extension on a new Columbia River bridge, though the phone survey did not ask how much -- if anything -- people were willing to pay for it.

Across the political spectrum

Those who challenge Clark County light-rail proposals come from across the political spectrum, though many are conservative. Madore says the common thread of light-rail opponents is worry and outrage about the project's perceived waste and lack of accountability.

Leavitt said it's impossible to throw a blanket over all light-rail foes. He has a good relationship with some.

And others? In nearly nine years in public office, first as a city councilman and now as Vancouver mayor, Leavitt says some light-rail opponents "have been the most aggressive and some the most disrespectful and underhanded in what I have experienced during my political tenure."

Leavitt believes light rail is beneficial to Clark County, because it ties into a multibillion-dollar investment already in place in the Portland area. Leavitt also believes the more people who take advantage of light rail, the more room it leaves on roadways for the transportation of goods.

Because of his light-rail stance, Leavitt is a lightning rod for light-rail opponents. "I think he is a wishful thinker, and he doesn't want to face reality," Madore said.

Cost tops the list of what motivates light-rail opponents. Original CRC estimates for light rail were $1.17 billion, but the project's costs are fluid because of uncertainty about the bridge design and unknowns associated with acquiring land. The expectation is that construction costs would come from the federal government, with a local sales tax increase paying for operations and maintenance. A C-Tran measure seeking a bump in the sales tax for light-rail maintenance might end up on the 2012 ballot.

Opponents say it's foolhardy to spend big money on a light-rail project when widening highways and adding a third and fourth bridge would benefit more people. Kevin Peterson, a transportation planner with Peterson Design in Seattle, said the price of a light-rail project is generally "double to triple the cost" of highway construction, mainly due to the cost of rail cars and power requirements.

Madore holds up Portland and its popular light-rail system as an example when he pounds home his point.

"Portland's congestion is a disaster, mainly because they took their precious funds and spent them on light rail instead of widening their freeways," Madore said.

Cost certainly bothers Patella, too, but he also doesn't like that light-rail trains often run nearly empty during large stretches of the day. "It's a fixed system. You can't go anywhere except where light rail goes," he said.

Patella believes light rail is an outdated mode of transportation.

"I feel very passionate about light rail," he said. "The only thing it serves is rush-hour commuters."